Multi-Care Community Services Suffolk Ltd

Updated 18 May 2022

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Unlike our standard approach to assessing performance, we did not physically visit the office of the location. This is a new approach we have introduced to reviewing and assessing performance of some care at home providers. Instead of visiting the office location we use technology such as electronic file sharing and video or phone calls to engage with people using the service and staff.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector .

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 21 April 2022 and ended on 6 May 2022 when we gave feedback.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed our systems and information we held about the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people and three relatives about their experience of Multi-Care Community Services Suffolk Ltd.

We spoke with the registered manager and the deputy manager. We received electronic feedback from eight members of staff and the local authority commissioning team who work with the service.

We reviewed a range of records which included risk assessments, medication records for three people and three staff records. We also viewed some of the provider’s policies and procedures, management monitoring and oversight records.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 18 May 2022

Multi-Care Community Services Suffolk Ltd is a domiciliary care service providing care to people in their own homes. CQC only inspects where people receive a regulated activity of personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating.

Where they do receive personal care, we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of inspection there were nine people who used the service who received personal care.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People and their relatives were complimentary about the service Multi-Care Community Services Suffolk Ltd provided and would recommend the service. The management worked in partnership with people, relatives and other professionals to achieve individualised, person-centred care.

People were supported by a staff team who were safely recruited, trained and knew how to protect them from potential harm.

Staffing and recruitment was a challenge, particularly considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this staff and the management team worked hard to ensure that people received their care visits as planned and at the time of the inspection there had been no reported missed visits.

People received their care visits at the times they expected, for the length of time agreed, and from staff they knew.

Infection prevention and control, medicines and risks associated with people’s care were well managed, and in line with legislative requirements and recognised best practice guidelines.

People's care and support records were detailed, person-centred and promoted choice. They were re-assessed regularly and guided staff on how to support people safely and encourage their independence.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff understood the importance of gaining consent from people. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and care staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People's care plans promoted choice and guided staff on how to support people safely and encourage their independence. They included information on what was important to people including their preferences and interests.

People and relatives felt able to raise any issues with the staff and management team and were confident these would be addressed. Staff felt supported and valued in their role by the management team.

Effective systems to monitor the quality and safety of the service were in place.

Rating at last inspection

The service was registered with us on 2 December 2020. This was their first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned comprehensive inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk